I think that the "cheerful mushroom cloud" is actually a melty umbrella like for a baby or wedding shower. I've seen similar (sadly w/o my camera) and was thrilled when the one ordered for my bff's wedding shower turned out nicely.

Having looked at it for a minute, I now realize that #1 is supposed to be a sunset on the ocean. But at first glance, it looked like someone had unzipped their jeans and ... let it all hang out. Complete with swirls of body hair and gummy nipples. T_T

I think the first one is *supposed* to be the sun setting on the ocean... with polluted clouds and... an ode to "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" type story where suddenly it starts raining lifesavers?????Wouldn't skittles have been more appropriate?

If you use your imagination, the first one looks like a poor attempt at a beach scene (the dirt) with the sun setting into the horizon while reflecting across the water. Of course, I have no idea what the lifesavers are suppose to be...

I *think* that first one is supposed to be a sunset at the beach. The orange stuff is the sun just barely peeking above the water, with the reflection spread out over the water. The icing blobs are clouds.

Okay, the only good thing I can say about the last wreck is that at least that one I can eventually figure out what it is. The others? I have NO clue. Seriously. I keep staring and staring, and all I get is nauseated.

Well, my first thought about the first one was "sea slugs?" Nah, not in the right place. Then I kind of got the "sea" scene with reflection, sand, etc. I guess those sea slugs are actually clouds. Not sure about the lifesavers, though . . . incoming life rings for those "drowning in a school of thought over what this cake is supposed to be?"

I kind of liked the CCC . . . it didn't look like it had any pretense at being anything but a collection of cupcakes!

Minus the lifesavers and maybe the dirt, I kind of like the first one. It reminds me of a VanGogh - especially his last painting of the wheat field where the road ends in the middle of the field. Said field is where he then killed himself.

Hmmm...I hope the wreckerator wasn't crying out for help.

P.S. I love the logo for the next leg of the tour. Good to see you have your sense of humor about it. I'm glad that you guys are doing better.

After seeing these cakes my ambitions have been fired up for making an attempt at something for the World Tour Cupcake Decorating contest. How could I do any worse!

Really was just commenting so I could mention WV--sonceste

Cake number 1 takes us please sing in harmony) "Beyond the sonceste". (Sorry, if you are younger than 35, you may not recognize the song. In that case you need not sing. Unless you are in a Song Wrecky mood.)

It's not all that mysterious.In the first one, the ladyfinger-type things are clouds, the lifesavers above them are the sun and the moon, the navy-blue is the water and the orange blob is the sun's reflection on the water, and the chocolate chips are stars, or maybe ash fallout from a nearby volcanic eruption, or crashing meteorites, or something like that, and the crumbs of whatever-that-is are sand on the beach. The purple-gray lifesavers are floaty toys that the children left on the beach when they went inside after the meteorite storm started. It also helps if you assume a color-blind cake decorator.

The second one was for somebody's third birthday, and it actually represents a big birthday cake with three candles on it. The cool thing here is that the picture of a big cake is actually made out of cupcakes. Very meta-textual, no?

The third one is a beach umbrella on a very small island. I don't really know why there are a green arch and a brown arch above the umbrella (an off-color rainbow?), but I'm trying here, OK.

The fourth one is the most brilliant of all. Obviously, it's a headless dachshund playing croquet on a snow-covered field. The tan gumdrops are croquet balls, the yellow loops are wickets, and the little piles of sprinkles are confetti thrown by excited sports fans.

Do you ever get the feeling that some wreckerators out there are TRYING to make it on your blog? I didn't think that until I saw today's post. Seriously. Those folks are just messing with you. They are deliberately trying to earn a spot on Cake Wrecks. There is no other explanation.

Good heavens! I couldn't tell what ANY of them were supposed to be. Couldn't wait to get to the comments and find out, surely somebody has some idea...I also want some of what they're having, that makes those cakes seem reasonable. I'm sure it would put a nice spin on my morning. Lily

To me the second CCC kinda looks like they were going to a birthday cake with HUGE candles...maybeThe third makes me think of a multi-colored umbrella poking out of sand. At first I thought it was upside down, but it doesn't make any sense from any side.The last one reminds me of Pillow People. I loved those. Most girls got the ballerina ones. For some reason my parents got me a basket ball player. Hmmm

If you look closely, there is a purple one on the "beach" which is, I imagine, where the other two started out before they were slid about in all their crunchyness to where they now rest. I believe they are supposed to be LIFESAVERS as in the floaty kind, and therefore make sense.

I think that first one is supposed to be the sun setting on the ocean, you know, where it gets all glittery on that line between the sun and the beach. See? it's got clouds, the blue part is ocean, and then the glittery sun spilling towards the beach............ I have no clue what the live savers are.

I agree #2 is probably cake with candles, although I also like the sundae idea. You know those birthday candles that are available in just about every grocery store that have a spiral pattern to them, so they basically have white and pastel stripes spiraling up the candle? I immediately got kind of an impressionist picture of those, which I instantly forgot when I started thinking about the cake, because it doesn't *really* look like those candles. I had to really think hard to retrieve that original impression.

In other words, this cake design works, but only up until you actually engage higher brain functions.

#4, the URL for the photo contains the string "AAAAAAAAE." Says it all, really.

#1 Is a sun setting on the ocean, with a black beach (why black I don't know). The white bits are clouds. The lifesavers confuse me? Mars and Venus?

#2 If its supposed to be candles what's with the red life savers? Is it supposed to be fire? Wouldn't yellow or orange be better? I don't have a better theory.

#3 I thought it was a beach ball but it could be an umbrella I suppose?

#4 the name of the photo indicates its rupert the bear, can't you see the resemblance: http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=rupert%20the%20bear&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enCA311CA311&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

The ONLY one I can figure out is the first one. I think if you kinda squint at it & tilt your head to the side, you can see it's an ocean with a sunset (reflecting in the water, hence the orange smear), the dirt is supposed to be sand & the squiggly things are clouds. I have NO IDEA what the Life Savers are supposed to represent though. Guess I need more drugs for that. :)

The lifesavers weren't supposed to be there in the first one. See, the wreckorator was eating lifesavers while leaning over her work and when she exclaimed, "It's beautiful!", one of them fell out of her mouth. She tried again with the same results. Easy.

I only have a guess on the first one and I have no idea if I'm even close. But I'm thinking a sunset reflecting over the ocean & the beach. And maybe clouds?

And the Lifesavers are CLEARLY people in the ocean throwing their "lifesavers" up in the air... in celebration?? OR you can't see the people because they're drowning and the lifesavers are being thrown down from a rescue copter ?????

OK, I'm just throwing this out there, but wreck #4 is apparently Rupert the Bear (an English character). September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month which would explain the gold ribbons, since that's the ribbon color for childhood cancer. If some kid is that sick, haven't they suffered enough without this bizarre CCC???

I saw "cake with three candles" right away (though "Seussian trees" is a reasonable interpretation!) and "beach umbrella" was fairly obvious. And while I've never heard of Rupert the Bear before, at least you can tell it's a face. But I still don't see anything at all coherent in #1. A sunset, huh? [head tilt, squint] No. Still don't see it.

I think that first one looks like a tornado over a lake with caterpillar clouds... very inspired! And I agree with hamburke that the "cheerful mushroom cloud" is probably an umbrella.... I say probably....

That first "sad bat" wreck? My 5 year old daughter saw it and asked if they were Puss Caterpillars made out of frosting. She was recently stung by one of these venomous caterpillars and seeing what she thought was a frosting representation of them... well, we were all busting up laughing. If you Google Puss Caterpillar you'll see it really does look like they tried to make them there!

1. Silly Jen, it's upside down. Flip it over and it's clearly a . . . uh . . . potato plant! Yeah, that's it -- the "clouds" are the potatoes, the lifesavers are stones, etc. (OK, really, after the early comment I will always see the unzipped pants now.)

2. I really thought it was a colorful cactus, which is sort of cute.

3. beach umbrella

4. Square-headed teddy bear. See, the top two corners are clearly ears.

I think the "I have no freaking idea" CCC is supposed to be a tragicaly squashed cake with gigantic stripey candles on top.The clown's mushroom cloud - beach ball umbrella? - looks like it has silly putty at the bottom...perhaps an extra gift with purchase?

"duuude there's another order! hand me more iging and another magic mushroom"

btw...should I be worried that the first cake actually makes sense to me? it's clearly a sunset! see? there's the sea, the orange glitter, the sun, the round worm-clouds and the err...flying saucers =D!

Okay. The first is a beach sunset without - and this is important - the wreckerator remembering to draw in the sun. The third is upside down here, it's pretty clearly an 8 year old's crayon drawing of an erupting volcano if you flip it right-side up.

@Joyce, Yes, we have the dreaded CCC's in Canada. My Mother-in-law picked one up at Safeway for $5 (originally $24.99!!). It was a bad BEE Movie CCC with the thick icing diguise and really bad bright yellow airbrushing. I cringed when I seen it and went, "Boy, that's a pretty wrecky CCC." I got blank stares and a couple of "huh?'s" from the kids.

The first one: a sunset on the ocean. With the light reflecting on the water. Badly. In a orange-floating-yellow brick road to the sun kind of way.The second one: Ice cream? In towers? On top of an ice cream ocean?The third one: a beach umbrella, in sand, with water behind it?The fourth one: What???

It's quite obvious:These cakes have been made especially for one reason:the recipient is supposed not to realize that he is going through a Rorschach test! So... kind of therapy, you know?I mean... you can see that in the answers here what people see in the pictures *ggg*

oh, btw: I linked your blog to my blog, because I have not found a blog like this for years... thanks for sharing these great cakes :)

I took the picture of the CCC (#2). It's from a Walmart in Palm Desert, CA. I snapped pictures of a couple "cakes" that day, but this one was by far the most bizarre. I stared at it for 10 minutes and still couldn't figure out what is was supposed to be. The various theories posted here all make more sense than anything I could come up with. I'll have to go back soon and see what else they've created for us.

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A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.

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